Capacitive touch sensor with moisture management features

ABSTRACT

A dishwashing appliance includes a cabinet and a tub. The tub defines a wash chamber for receipt of articles for washing. A door is rotatably mounted to the cabinet for movement between a closed position wherein the wash chamber is sealingly enclosed and an open position permitting access to the wash chamber for loading and unloading of articles from the dishwashing appliance. The dishwashing appliance also includes a control console positioned on the door. The control console includes a console cover on an exterior surface of the door, a console bracket mounted within an interior of the door and proximate the console cover, and a circuit board attached to an interior surface of the console cover with a double-sided adhesive film. The console bracket includes a drainage surface. The drainage surface may have a three-dimensional hydrophilic surface texture and/or may slope towards a drain hole in the console bracket.

FIELD

The present subject matter relates generally to user inputs forappliances, such as touch sensors for dishwashing appliances.

BACKGROUND

Appliances generally include a control panel having a plurality ofbuttons, keys, or other input devices. Utilizing the control panel, anappliance user can input control commands to the appliance and operatethe appliance. Certain control panels include capacitive touch sensorsthat utilize a user's body capacitance to operate. In particular,capacitive touch sensors can detect a change in capacitance when theuser touches the control panel.

Capacitive touch sensors have various benefits. For example, capacitivetouch sensors can assist with providing a clean appearance for anassociated appliance. In particular, capacitive touch sensors arefrequently positioned behind a dielectric panel. A user touches an outersurface of the dielectric panel opposite the capacitive touch sensors toactuate the capacitive touch sensors. The smooth outer surface can havea pleasant cosmetic appearance, e.g., particularly compared to tactilebuttons, knobs, etc.

Some capacitive touch sensors can register a “false touch,” e.g., whensomething other than the user touches the outer surface of thedielectric panel such capacitive touch sensors may be actuated in anundesirable manner. For example, water or other liquids splashed orspilled on the control panel may cause capacitive touch sensors of thecontrol panel to register a false touch.

Dishwashing appliances generally include a tub that defines a washchamber. Rack assemblies can be mounted within the wash chamber forreceipt of articles for washing. Various cycles may be included as partof the overall cleaning process. For example, a typical, user-selectedcleaning option may include a wash cycle and rinse cycle (referred tocollectively as a wet cycle), as well as a drying cycle. In addition,spray-arm assemblies within the wash chamber may be used to apply ordirect fluid towards the articles disposed within the rack assemblies inorder to clean such articles. As is generally understood, dishwashingappliances may often include multiple spray-arm assemblies, such as alower spray-arm assembly mounted to the tub at a bottom of the washchamber, a mid-level spray-arm assembly mounted to one of the rackassemblies, and/or an upper spray-arm assembly mounted to the tub at atop of the wash chamber.

While it is desirable to incorporate a capacitive touch sensor orsensors in a dishwashing appliance for the above-noted reasons, it isalso challenging to do so given the presence of water and other liquidsutilized by such appliances, e.g., during a wash cycle and/or rinsecycle, as mentioned above.

Accordingly, an improved capacitive touch sensor for an appliance wouldbe welcomed, in particular, a capacitive touch sensor with improvedresistance to moisture, e.g., water and/or wash liquids, for use in adishwashing appliance would be welcomed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in thefollowing description, or may be obvious from the description, or may belearned through practice of the invention.

In one aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a dishwashingappliance. The dishwashing appliance includes a cabinet and a tub in thecabinet. The tub defines a wash chamber for receipt of articles forwashing. A door is rotatably mounted to the cabinet for movement betweena closed position wherein the wash chamber is sealingly enclosed and anopen position permitting access to the wash chamber for loading andunloading of articles from the dishwashing appliance. The dishwashingappliance also includes a control console positioned on the door. Thecontrol console includes a console cover on an exterior surface of thedoor, a console bracket mounted within an interior of the door andproximate the console cover, and a circuit board attached to an interiorsurface of the console cover with a double-sided adhesive film. Theconsole bracket comprises a drainage surface having a three-dimensionalhydrophilic surface texture.

In another aspect, the present subject matter is directed to adishwashing appliance. The dishwashing appliance includes a cabinet anda tub in the cabinet. The tub defines a wash chamber for receipt ofarticles for washing. A door is rotatably mounted to the cabinet formovement between a closed position wherein the wash chamber is sealinglyenclosed and an open position permitting access to the wash chamber forloading and unloading of articles from the dishwashing appliance. Thedishwashing appliance also includes a control console positioned on thedoor. The control console includes a console cover on an exteriorsurface of the door, a console bracket mounted within an interior of thedoor and proximate the console cover, and a circuit board attached to aninterior surface of the console cover with a double-sided adhesive film.The console bracket comprises a drainage surface which slopes towards adrain hole in the console bracket.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdescription and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which areincorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrateembodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including thebest mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is setforth in the specification, which makes reference to the appendedfigures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of one embodiment of a dishwashingappliance in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter.

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the dishwashing appliance shown inFIG. 1 with a cabinet of the dishwashing appliance shown in section,particularly illustrating various internal components of the dishwashingappliance.

FIG. 3 illustrates a similar view of the dishwashing appliance as inFIG. 2 with a door of the dishwashing appliance in an open position.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the doorFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 illustrates a transverse sectional view of the door of thedishwashing appliance of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 6 illustrates an enlarged view of a portion of a drainage surfaceaccording to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention,one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Eachexample is provided by way of explanation of the invention, notlimitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be madein the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit ofthe invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as partof one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a stillfurther embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present inventioncovers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

As used herein, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third” may be usedinterchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are notintended to signify location or importance of the individual components.The terms “upstream” and “downstream” refer to the relative directionwith respect to fluid flow in a fluid pathway. For example, “upstream”refers to the direction from which the fluid flows, and “downstream”refers to the direction to which the fluid flows. As used herein, termsof approximation such as “generally,” “about,” or “approximately”include values within ten percent greater or less than the stated value.When used in the context of an angle or direction, such terms includewithin ten degrees greater or less than the stated angle or direction,e.g., “generally vertical” includes forming an angle of up to tendegrees in any direction, e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise, with thevertical direction V.

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 through 3 illustrate oneembodiment of a domestic dishwashing appliance 100 that may beconfigured in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Asshown in FIGS. 1 through 3, the dishwashing appliance 100 may include acabinet 102 having a tub 104 therein defining a wash chamber 106. Thetub 104 may generally include a front opening (not shown) and a door 108hinged at its bottom 110 for movement between a normally closed verticalposition (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), wherein the wash chamber 106 issealed shut for washing operation, and a horizontal open position (shownin FIGS. 3 and 4) for loading and unloading of articles from thedishwashing appliance 100.

As is understood, the tub 104 may generally have a rectangularcross-section defined by various wall panels or walls. For example, asshown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tub 104 may include a top wall 160 and abottom wall 162 spaced apart from one another along a vertical directionV of the dishwashing appliance 100. Additionally, the tub 104 mayinclude a plurality of sidewalls 164 (e.g., four sidewalls) extendingbetween the top and bottom walls 160, 162. It should be appreciated thatthe tub 104 may generally be formed from any suitable material. However,in several embodiments, the tub 104 may be formed from a ferriticmaterial, such as stainless steel, or a polymeric material.

As particularly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, upper and lower guide rails 124,126 may be mounted on opposing side walls 164 of the tub 104 and may beconfigured to accommodate roller-equipped rack assemblies 130 and 132.Each of the rack assemblies 130, 132 may be fabricated into latticestructures including a plurality of elongated members 134 (for clarityof illustration, not all elongated members making up assemblies 130 and132 are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3). Additionally, each rack 130, 132 may beadapted for movement along a transverse direction T between an extendedloading position (not shown) in which the rack is substantiallypositioned outside the wash chamber 106, and a retracted position (shownin FIGS. 2 and 3) in which the rack is located inside the wash chamber106. This may be facilitated by rollers 135 and 139, for example,mounted onto racks 130 and 132, respectively. As is generallyunderstood, a silverware basket (not shown) may be removably attached torack assembly 132 for placement of silverware, utensils, and the like,that are otherwise too small to be accommodated by the racks 130, 132.

Additionally, the dishwashing appliance 100 may also include a lowerspray-arm assembly 144 that is configured to be rotatably mounted withina lower region 146 of the wash chamber 106 directly above the bottomwall 162 of the tub 104 so as to rotate in relatively close proximity tothe rack assembly 132. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a mid-level spray-armassembly 148 may be located in an upper region of the wash chamber 106,such as by being located in close proximity to the upper rack 130.Moreover, an upper spray assembly 150 may be located above the upperrack 130.

As is generally understood, the lower and mid-level spray-arm assemblies144, 148 and the upper spray assembly 150 may generally form part of afluid circulation system 152 for circulating fluid (e.g., water anddishwashing fluid which may also include water, detergent, and/or otheradditives, and may be referred to as wash liquor) within the tub 104. Asshown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fluid circulation system 152 may alsoinclude a recirculation pump 154 located in a machinery compartment 140below the bottom wall 162 of the tub 104, as is generally recognized inthe art, and one or more fluid conduits for circulating the fluiddelivered from the pump 154 to and/or throughout the wash chamber 106.The tub 104 may include a sump 142 positioned at a bottom of the washchamber 106 for receiving fluid from the wash chamber 106. Therecirculation pump 154 receives fluid from sump 142 to provide a flow tofluid circulation system 152, which may include a switching valve ordiverter (not shown) to select flow to one or more of the lower andmid-level spray-arm assemblies 144, 148 and the upper spray assembly150.

Moreover, each spray-arm assembly 144, 148 may include an arrangement ofdischarge ports or orifices for directing washing liquid onto dishes orother articles located in rack assemblies 130 and 132, which may providea rotational force by virtue of washing fluid flowing through thedischarge ports. The resultant rotation of the lower spray-arm assembly144 provides coverage of dishes and other dishwasher contents with awashing spray.

A drain pump 156 may also be provided in the machinery compartment 140and in fluid communication with the sump 142. The drain pump 156 may bein fluid communication with an external drain (not shown) to dischargefluid, e.g., used wash liquid, from the sump 142.

The dishwashing appliance 100 may be further equipped with a controller137 configured to regulate operation of the dishwasher 100. Thecontroller 137 may generally include one or more memory devices and oneor more microprocessors, such as one or more general or special purposemicroprocessors operable to execute programming instructions ormicro-control code associated with a cleaning cycle. The memory mayrepresent random access memory such as DRAM, or read only memory such asROM or FLASH. In one embodiment, the processor executes programminginstructions stored in memory. The memory may be a separate componentfrom the processor or may be included onboard within the processor.

The controller 137 may be positioned in a variety of locationsthroughout dishwashing appliance 100. In the illustrated embodiment, thecontroller 137 is located within a control panel area 121 of the door108, as shown in FIG. 1. In such an embodiment, input/output (“I/O”)signals may be routed between the control system and various operationalcomponents of the dishwashing appliance 100 along wiring harnesses thatmay be routed through the bottom of the door 108. Typically, thecontroller 137 includes a user interface panel/control console 136through which a user may select various operational features and modesand monitor progress of the dishwasher 100. In one embodiment, thecontrol console 136 may represent a general purpose I/O (“GPIO”) deviceor functional block. Additionally, the control console 136 may includeinput components, such as one or more of a variety of electrical,mechanical or electro-mechanical input devices including rotary dials,push buttons, touch pads, and touch screens. The control console 136 mayalso include a display component, such as a digital or analog displaydevice designed to provide operational feedback to a user. As isgenerally understood, the control console 136 may be in communicationwith the controller 137 via one or more signal lines or sharedcommunication busses. It should be noted that controllers 137 asdisclosed herein are capable of and may be operable to perform anymethods and associated method steps as disclosed herein.

It should be appreciated that the present subject matter is not limitedto any particular style, model, or configuration of dishwashingappliance. The exemplary embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 through 3 issimply provided for illustrative purposes only. For example, differentlocations may be provided for the control console 136, differentconfigurations may be provided for the racks 130, 132, and otherdifferences may be applied as well.

FIG. 4 provides an enlarged view of a portion of the door 108, in thearea indicated by 4 in FIG. 3. In FIGS. 3 and 4 the dishwashingappliance 100 is illustrated with the door 108 in the horizontal openposition, e.g., where the door 108 is predominantly disposed in alateral-transvers plane defined by the lateral direction L and thetransverse direction T. As used herein “predominantly disposed” meansthat the two largest dimensions of the door's three dimensions areoriented along the lateral direction L and the transverse direction T.For example, if the door 108 defines a length, a width, and a heightwhere the length and width are each greater than the height, such asmuch greater than the height, then the length and width of the door 108would be oriented along the lateral direction L and the transversedirection T when the door 108 is in the open position and the smallestdimension of the door 108 may be oriented generally along the verticaldirection V when the door 108 is in the open position.

As best seen in FIG. 4, the door 108 includes the control console 136positioned on the door 108 such that the control console 136 forms aportion of an exterior surface 109 of the door 108. As may be seen inFIG. 4, the door 108 extends from a front panel 111 to a back panel 112,e.g., along the vertical direction V when in the open position asillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. An interior 113 of the door 108 is definedbetween the front panel 111, the back panel 112, the exterior surface109, and the bottom 110 (FIGS. 2 and 3) of the door 108.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the control console 136 includes a consolecover 200 and a console bracket 202. The console bracket 202 may bemounted within the interior 113 of the door 108 proximate the consolecover 200. The control console 136 also includes a circuit board 212which may be positioned between the console cover 200 and the consolebracket 202, e.g., along the transverse direction T when the door 108 isin the horizontal open position (FIGS. 3 and 4). The console bracket 202and the console cover 200 may collectively define, or at least partiallydefine, a housing or enclosure 210 for the circuit board 212, such thatthe circuit board 212 is fully enclosed within the enclosure 210, e.g.,the console cover 200 and the console bracket 202 collectively surroundthe circuit board 212, with the circuit board 212 disposed between theconsole cover 200 and the console bracket 202.

The printed circuit board 212 may be attached to the console cover 200by an adhesive film, e.g., tape, 214, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.The adhesive film 214 may be double-sided, e.g., may have adhesive ontwo opposing surfaces of the film 214. It should be noted that the film214 is illustrated with an exaggerated size relative to the surroundingcomponents in FIGS. 4 and 5 for the sake of clarity of illustration. Inpractice, the film 214 may typically be much thinner, e.g., relative tothe printed circuit board 212 and the console cover 200, than isdepicted in FIGS. 4 and 5.

As mentioned above, the console cover 200 is positioned on and at leastpartially defines the exterior surface 109 of the door 108. For example,the control console 136 may be positioned on a top surface of the door108, e.g., such that when in the closed position, as illustrated in FIG.2, the exterior surface 109 is located at an uppermost extent of thedoor 108 along the vertical direction V, and the exterior surface 109 islocated at an outermost extent (e.g., farthest away from the cabinet 102of the dishwashing appliance 100) of the door 108 along the transversedirection T when in the door 108 is in the open position, as illustratedin FIGS. 3 and 4.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the door 108 is in the openposition such that the front panel 111 and the back panel 112 arealigned along the vertical direction V, water or other moisture mayspill or splash out of the wash chamber 106 and/or off of articlestherein, and onto the back panel 112 of the door 108. When the door 108is in the open position, such moisture may have a tendency to flowdownward along the vertical direction V into the interior 113 of thedoor 108 and/or into the enclosure 210 defined between the consolebracket 202 and the console cover 200. For example, an ingress point 215may be defined at a joint between the console cover 200 and the consolebracket 202 when the door 108 is in the open position. Moisture may thusintrude into the enclosure 210, e.g., at the ingress point 215, when thedoor 108 is in the open position.

Referring particularly to FIG. 4, the console bracket 202 may extend ina first direction, e.g., the vertical direction V when the door 108 isin the open position, from a front side 206 proximate the front panel111 of the door 108 to a back side 208 proximate the back panel 112 ofthe door 108. The console bracket 202 may also include a base portion204 extending from the front side 206 to the back side 208. In at leastsome embodiments, the front side 206 may be joined to the back side 208through the base portion 204, whereby the console bracket 202 provides acontinuous single structure which can be mounted or mountable to thedoor 108 (such as at the front and back panels 111 and 112) to supportand position the remaining components of the control console 136. Theconsole bracket 202 may be mounted to the door 108 at the front panel111 and the back panel 112, e.g., the front side 206 of the consolebracket 202 may be coupled to the front panel 111, e.g., with one ormore mechanical fasteners (not shown) or adhesive, etc. and the backside 208 of the console bracket 202 may also be coupled to the backpanel 112 of the door 108, such as with mechanical fasteners, adhesives,or any other suitable coupling as will be understood by those of skillin the art.

The control console 136 may be or include a capacitive touch sensor. Forexample, the printed circuit board 212 may comprise one or morecapacitive touch sensors embedded thereon, and the console cover 200 maycomprise a dielectric material such that the console cover 200 providesa dielectric panel for the capacitive touch sensor(s). For example, asis generally understood by those of skill in the art, the printedcircuit board 212 may include an electrode, e.g., a ground pour of theprinted circuit board 212, and a sensor pad or pads disposed on theprinted circuit board 212. Accordingly, the control console 136 may beresponsive to a touch from a user, e.g., on the exterior surface 109, bysensing or measuring a change in capacitance at the printed circuitboard 212 due to the presence of, e.g., the user's finger on theexterior surface 109. In various embodiments, the capacitive touchsensor may operate on self capacitance, mutual capacitance, orcombinations thereof and/or any other suitable configuration. Thestructure and function of such capacitive touch sensors are generallyunderstood by those of skill in the art and, as such, are not shown ordescribed in greater detail herein.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, one or more drainage surfaces may be providedwithin the enclosure 210. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, theconsole bracket 202 may include a first drainage surface 218 whichextends from a point at or near the ingress point 215 along the backside 208 of the console bracket 202 and away from the printed circuitboard 212, a second drainage surface 220 which extends from the backside 208, e.g., from an end of the first drainage surface 218, to thebase portion 204, and a third drainage surface 222 which extends from ator near the back side 208, e.g., from an end of the second drainagesurface 220, to at or near the front side 206 of the console bracket202, e.g., at least to a drain hole 216 formed in the console bracket202 proximate the front side 206 of the console bracket 202. Thedrainage surface(s) 218, 220, and 222 may be positioned within theenclosure 210, e.g., the drainage surface(s) 218, 220, and 222 may bedisposed on a side of the console bracket 202 which faces the printedcircuit board 212.

Still with reference to FIG. 4, the drain hole 216 may be positioned inthe console bracket 202 such that the drain hole 216 is at leastpartially below the bottom lowermost edge of the printed circuit board212 along the vertical direction V when the door 108 is in the openposition, as illustrated for example in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the drainhole 216 may be positioned such that all or most of any moisture whichmay enter the enclosure 210 may be directed part the printed circuitboard 212 by the drainage surface(s) 218, 220, and/or 222 and out of theenclosure via the drain hole 216.

In various embodiments, the console bracket 202 may include one, all, orany combination of the exemplary drainage surfaces 218, 220, and 222. Insome embodiments, e.g., where all three drainage surfaces are provided,the drainage surfaces 218, 220, and 222 may be continuously andseamlessly joined, such that moisture may easily flow from one surfaceto the next. Thus, the drainage surfaces 218, 220, and 222 may beconsidered as collectively defining a single continuous surface whichextends at least from the ingress point 215 to the drain hole 216 insuch embodiments. For example, the drainage surfaces 218, 220, and 222may be considered as portions of a single drainage surface. In variousembodiments, the drainage surface(s) 218, 220, and 222 may extendsacross the back side 208 of the console bracket 202 and across the baseportion 204 of the console bracket 202.

The drainage surface(s) 218, 220, and/or 222 of the console bracket 202may include features such that, when the door 108 is in the openposition, moisture may be directed away from the printed circuit board212 into openings, e.g., one or more drain holes 216, to drain into thedoor cavity 113. For example, each of the drainage surfaces 218, 220,and/or 222 which are provided in the illustrated example embodiment ofFIG. 4 slopes away from the printed circuit board 212 and to or towardsthe drain hole 216. Thus, moisture which may enter the enclosure 210 mayflow by gravity along the drainage surfaces 218, 220, and/or 222 to thedrain hole 216.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 5, the drain hole or holes 216, e.g.,two drain holes 216 as illustrated for example in FIG. 5, may bedisposed in the base portion 204 of the console bracket 202 such that,when the door 108 is in the closed position, the drain holes 216 may bepositioned entirely below the printed circuit board 212 along thevertical direction V. Thus, moisture which may enter the enclosure 210may flow by gravity to the drain holes 216 and out of the enclosure 210away from the printed circuit board 212. Also as shown in FIG. 5, thethird drainage surface 222 may include a crown slope, e.g., the thirddrainage surface may have a high point 224 at or near a lateral centerof the door 108 and may slope downward along the vertical direction Vand towards the drain holes 216 along the lateral direction L.

Turning now to FIG. 6, the drainage surface(s) 218, 220, and/or 222 mayinclude a three-dimensional hydrophilic surface texture. For example, asshown in FIG. 6, the first drainage surface 218 may be hydrophilic suchthat moisture M forms a small contact angle Θ with the surface 218. Thethree-dimensional hydrophilic surface texture may prevent moisture M,e.g., condensing water, from forming large diameter droplets which maycontact the printed circuit board 212 and transfer over to the printedcircuit board 212, e.g., during movement of the door 108 between theopen and closed positions. Surface tension in the moisture may be brokenby the surface texture so large droplets cannot form, even on plasticsurfaces. For example, as may be seen in FIG. 6, the moisture M isspread out along the first drainage surface 218 such that moistureflowing along the first drainage surface 218 will form a laminar sheetflow across the surface 218. It should be noted that first drainagesurface 218 is depicted in FIG. 6 by way of example only, any or all ofthe drainage surfaces 218, 220, and 222 may include the hydrophilictexture. As such, moisture which may enter the enclosure 210 may bespread out over the drainage surface(s) 218, 220, and/or 222 in alow-profile laminar flow. Accordingly, such moisture may have a largesurface area to volume ratio, promoting evaporation thereof. Thehydrophilic surface texture of the drainage surface(s) 218, 220, and/or222 may generally pull the moisture away from the printed circuit board212 as the moisture is dispersed over the drainage surface(s) 218, 220,and/or 222. Such surface textures and methods of forming a hydrophilictexture on a surface are generally understood by those of skill in theart and, therefore, further details such as the specific pattern of thehydrophilic surface texture are not shown or described herein for thesake of clarity and concision.

The drainage surface(s) 218, 220, and/or 222 may reduce or preventmoisture, e.g., water and/or wash liquor, which enters into theenclosure 210 from contacting the circuit board 212, thus avoiding orminimizing interference with the operation of the control console 136.For example, in embodiments where the control console 136 includescapacitive touch sensor(s), short circuits or false touches may bereduced or prevented by drawing moisture which may intrude into theenclosure 210 away from the printed circuit board 212, e.g., along thedrainage surface(s) 218, 220, and 222 due to the slope and/orhydrophilic texture of the surface(s) 218, 220, and 222.

The control console 136 of the present disclosure provides severaladvantages. For example, providing the drainage surface on the consolebracket 202 may allow moisture management without needing the consolebracket 202 to extend beyond the interior surface 210 of the consolecover 200, e.g., along the transverse direction T when the door 108 isin the open position. Accordingly, the console cover 200 may provide asmooth and uninterrupted surface for user engagement, e.g., a smooth anduninterrupted touch surface of the capacitive touch sensor in at leastsome embodiments. Such uninterrupted surface may be advantageous atleast in aesthetics and may also reduce the possibility of debrisaccumulation on the control console 136, e.g., by reducing the numberand size of seams or crevasses in which debris may accumulate. Asanother example, such design may reduce the overall number of parts inthe control console 136 assembly, e.g., by eliminating a need foradditional separate sealing components or reducing a required size ofsuch components. Accordingly, the printed circuit board 212 may belarger and may thereby provide increased size of the touch surface,e.g., in some embodiments a larger portion of the top surface 109 of thedoor 108 may be usable as the touch surface than would be possible ifadditional sealing elements were included. For example, the consolecover 200, including the touch-responsive exterior surface 109 definedthereby, may extend from the front panel 111 of the door 108 to the backpanel 112 of the door 108. As another example, the console bracket 202may be positioned entirely within the interior 113 of the door 108,e.g., without extending to or forming a part of the exterior surface 109of the door 108.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dishwashing appliance, comprising: a cabinet; atub in the cabinet, the tub defining a wash chamber for receipt ofarticles for washing; a door rotatably mounted to the cabinet formovement between a closed position wherein the wash chamber is sealinglyenclosed and an open position permitting access to the wash chamber forloading and unloading of articles from the dishwashing appliance; and acontrol console positioned on the door, the control console comprising aconsole cover on an exterior surface of the door, a console bracketmounted within an interior of the door and proximate the console cover,and a circuit board attached to the console cover with a double-sidedadhesive film, wherein the console bracket comprises a drainage surfacehaving a three-dimensional hydrophilic surface texture.
 2. Thedishwashing appliance of claim 1, wherein the drainage surface slopestowards a drain hole in the console bracket.
 3. The dishwashingappliance of claim 1, wherein the drainage surface extends across a backside of the console bracket and a base portion of the console bracket.4. The dishwashing appliance of claim 1, wherein the drainage surface isdisposed on the console bracket facing the circuit board.
 5. Thedishwashing appliance of claim 1, wherein the console bracket and theconsole cover define an enclosure with the circuit board encompassedwithin the enclosure.
 6. The dishwashing appliance of claim 1, whereinthe control console comprises a capacitive touch sensor.
 7. Thedishwashing appliance of claim 1, wherein the door comprises a frontpanel and a back panel, and wherein the console cover extends from thefront panel of the door to the back panel of the door.
 8. Thedishwashing appliance of claim 1, wherein the console bracket ispositioned entirely within the interior of the door.
 9. The dishwashingappliance of claim 1, wherein the console bracket does not form a partof the exterior surface of the door.
 10. The dishwashing appliance ofclaim 1, wherein the control console is positioned on a top surface ofthe door.
 11. A dishwashing appliance, comprising: a cabinet; a tub inthe cabinet, the tub defining a wash chamber for receipt of articles forwashing; a door rotatably mounted to the cabinet for movement between aclosed position wherein the wash chamber is sealingly enclosed and anopen position permitting access to the wash chamber for loading andunloading of articles from the dishwashing appliance; and a controlconsole positioned on the door, the control console comprising a consolecover on an exterior surface of the door, a console bracket mountedwithin an interior of the door and proximate the console cover, and acircuit board attached to the console cover with a double-sided adhesivefilm, wherein the console bracket comprises a drainage surface whichslopes towards a drain hole in the console bracket.
 12. The dishwashingappliance of claim 11, wherein the drainage surface comprises athree-dimensional hydrophilic surface texture.
 13. The dishwashingappliance of claim 11, wherein the drainage surface extends across aback side of the console bracket and a base portion of the consolebracket.
 14. The dishwashing appliance of claim 11, wherein the drainagesurface is disposed on the console bracket facing the circuit board. 15.The dishwashing appliance of claim 11, wherein the console bracket andthe console cover define an enclosure with the circuit board encompassedwithin the enclosure.
 16. The dishwashing appliance of claim 11, whereinthe control console comprises a capacitive touch sensor.
 17. Thedishwashing appliance of claim 11, wherein the door comprises a frontpanel and a back panel and wherein the console cover extends from thefront panel of the door to the back panel of the door.
 18. Thedishwashing appliance of claim 11, wherein the console bracket ispositioned entirely within the interior of the door.
 19. The dishwashingappliance of claim 11, wherein the console bracket does not form a partof the exterior surface of the door.
 20. The dishwashing appliance ofclaim 11, wherein the control console is positioned on a top surface ofthe door.